Madison365 has been named a finalist for two national honors in the inaugural Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION Publishers) Awards.
Madison365 is a finalist for Best Breaking News Coverage for its reporting on an incident of violence by a teacher against a Black student at Whitehorse Middle School in February. Madison365 was the first news outlet to confirm and report the incident, which led to the resignation of the teacher. He was not charged criminally.
Madison365 is also a finalist for Publication of the Year.
“Since we launched four years ago, we’ve been committed to serving our community through the highest quality journalism,” said 365 Media Publisher and CEO Henry Sanders. “To be recognized by our peers across the country as among the best local online news outlets just validates that commitment. I’m incredibly proud of our reporting team and all the work they do every day to tell the stories and amplify the voices of communities of color in Madison and across Wisconsin.”
Other finalists for Best Breaking News Coverage include ThisIsReno and the Tucson Sentinel. Other finalists for Publication of the Year are Racine County Eye and Tucson Sentinel.
Final winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the LION Publishers annual summit October 25 in Nashville.
LION Publishers has nearly 250 memmadbers in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Award nominations were judged by Amara Aguilar, USC Annenberg; Christine Schmidt, Nieman Lab; Courtney Cowgill, University of Montana; Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed; Dana Coester, West Virginia University; Dawn Garcia, JSK Fellowships; Doug Mitchell, Next Generation Radio; Eve Pearlman, Spaceship Media; Jane Elizabeth, Charlotte News & Observer; Jessica Pucci, Arizona State University; Jim Rutenberg, New York Times; Julia B. Chan, Mother Jones; Ken Doctor, Newsonomics; Kristen Hare, Poynter; Laura Owen, Nieman Lab; Reuben Stern, University of Missouri.
